Banking Hours

"Banker's hours" is an old-fashioned idiom meaning someone who has short work hours. For example you could say: "When did you start working banker's hours?"

Since banks in Korea are only open now between 9:00AM and 4:00PM, perhaps this idiom will be popular again.

You might say: "Andy, why do you need to go to the bank?"

"You can do everything online or through an atm."

True.

However, I usually go to the bank to exchange money. This cannot be done at an atm or online.

Currencies, like stocks, are always fluctuating. The Korean won reached a peak of around 900 won to 1 U.S. dollar a year and a half ago. Recently, it fell to as low as 1,600 won to 1 U.S. dollar. I like to take advantage of these currency swings. Why not? It's only a short trip to the bank.

Unfortunately, since banks are only open from 9AM-4PM, the only time I have is either lunch or Saturdays.

Bank tellers in Korea are all salaried employees. They work long hours after the bank is closed, sometimes until 9PM or so.

In the U.S., most bank tellers are part-timers: high school students, university students, house wives, etc. They get a wage of around $8-$10 per hour. When there's a rush of customers, a bank might have as many as 10 bank tellers working in the front. I know this because many of my friends in high school were bank tellers. They would work 2 hours a day after schoool from 4PM-6PM.

Because the banks are using a lot of part-time workers, the banking hours are much more convenient for customers.

Here are the open hours for my bank in California:

Mon-Sat 10:00 AM-7:00 PM

Sun 10:00 AM-3:00 PM

Yes. My bank is open 7 days a week and from 10AM-7PM Monday-Saturday.

Wouldn't you like it?

The Other L.A Team

Let's go Clippers. Let's go.

Yes. I know this NBA franchise sucks. However, I thought it would be interesting to present some facts and statistics of their futility.

1. The Clippers actually have to pay 710 AM to carry live broadcasts of their games. lol

2. Donald Sterling once hired a girlfriend/lover to be assistant general manager. "Patricia Simmons, a former model and occasional Sterling companion, who has what one San Diego newspaper described as 'no known basketball background.'"

3. From 1978-2008, the Clippers have only had 3 winning seasons.

4. Lifetime win-loss % = .362

5. 21 head coaches since 1970.

6. They are the oldest NBA team to never appear in the NBA Finals.

7. Only 3 teams have never won an NBA championship, Conference Championship, or Division Championship in their franchises history: Memphis Grizz, the Clippers, and Charlotte Bobcats.

8. Notable draft picks:

1982 Clippers #2 pick Terry Cummings (#3 Dominique Wilkins)

1989 Clippers #2 pick Danny Ferry (#3 Sean Elliot, #4 Glen Rice, #14 Tim Hardaway, #17 Shawn Kemp, #26 Vlade Divac)

1995 Clippers #2 pick Antonio McDyess (#3 Jerry Stackhouse, #4 Rasheed Wallace, #5 Kevin Garnett)

1998 Clippers #1 pick Michael Olowokandi (#2 Mike Bibby, #4 Antawn Jamison, #5 Vince Carter, #9 Dirk Nowitzki, #10 Paul Pierce, #32 Rashard Lewis) LOL

2001 Clippers #2 pick Tyson Chandler (#3 Pau Gasol, #10 Joe Johnson, #28 Tony Parker)

2002 Clippers #8 pick Chris Wilcox (#9 Amare Stoudamire, #10 Caron Butler)

2003 Clippers #6 pick Chris Kaman (#18 David West, #29 Josh Howard)

2004 Clippers #4 pick Shaun Livingston (#5 Devin Harris, #29 Jameer Nelson)

9. Ron Harper after being traded to the Bulls: “It’s nice to be back in the NBA again.”

10. Danny Manning before a Clipper home game at the Sports Arena: "Let's try to take the crowd out of the game early tonight."

11. Charles Barkley (with Houston at the time) after beating the Clippers: ``It's embarrassing the way they played. That team has to grow up and mature. The way they played is a disgrace,'' Barkley said. ``It doesn't matter if you win or lose, you have an obligation to the game. I'm disappointed in their effort and enthusiasm.

China

China is quickly replacing the U.S. as the consumer capital of the world.  

In March, the Chinese bought 1.1 million vehicles, while Americans bought fewer than 900,000. According to 2009 estimates, China's car sales could top 11 million.  That's a staggering amount for a developing country.   When you have such a huge market, there are bound to be some strong companies.  

There are two Chinese companies that I think are threats to LG, Samsung, and Hyundai.  

The first is Haeir.   They are a consumer electronics manufacturer with a wide range of products.  Haeir makes everything from refrigerators, washers, air conditioners, to beer dispensers and cell phones.   Although a lot of manufacturing is automated, the labor in China is still dirt cheap.   The average assembly line worker in China earns around $200 a month. Therefore, Haeir has an incredible price advantage over LG or Samsung.   

The second company is BYD.  BYD is one of the world's leading manufacturers of batteries. They sell cell phone batteries to Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung.  In addition, they are developing batteries to store solar and wind power.   Warren Buffet is so confident in this company that he invested $230 million for a 10% stake.   Also, since 2003, BYD has been selling cars.  They've already developed an electric plug-in hybrid.    The selling price of an F3DM will be around $16,000, which is cheaper than most gasoline-powered automobiles.   How can Hyundai compete with them? 

I believe this is a crucial period for several Korean firms.  Samsung dethroned Sony a few years ago.  Will Haeir dethrone Samsung?  

Will Hyundai Auto's fate be the same as the British brands in the late 1970s?   England used to be a top manufacturer of cars with brands like Jaguar, MG, Cooper, Triumph, etc.  However, the high cost of labor and hard-core labor unions spelled "death" for these once proud and successful companies.  A labor union strike at Hyundai Auto seems to be an annual event.   

Do you think these companies will survive?    

Pool Cues

Recently, I've been shopping for a new pool cue. Most billiard halls in Korea only have billiard cues. Pool cues are a little longer and thinner than billiard cues. In addition, pool cues are lighter. The differences exist because pool balls are smaller and lighter than billiard balls. Whenever I play 4-ball or 사구, I feel like I'm hitting a watermelon. =) The balls feel very heavy.

Here's what I've found:

1. The standard tip diameter is 13 mm.

2. The weight of a pool cue varies from 17-20 oz. (about 500-700 grams).

3. The average length is 57-58 inches (or 145-148 centimeters).

I decided to get a 57 inch 19 oz. pool cue with a 13 mm tip, a Pro taper (The Pro taper has the same diameter from the tip to 30-35 cm down. The European taper is conical and widens towards the joint), a hard maple shaft, and an irish linen wrap.

Anyway, I've spent a lot of time researching pool cues to find one suitable for me. I also found this great video. You can see how pool cues are made. I love Discovery Channel.

TEPS

Most of my students are familiar with TEPS (Test of English Proficiency by SNU).

Today, I took two parts of the SNU TEPS practice test -- perhaps out of boredom or simply because I enjoy taking tests.

In the third portion, "Vocabulary," students have 15 minutes to answer 50 questions. I was able to finish this in 6:51 and scored a perfect 50 out of 50. I don't think I can finish this section in a faster time and I probably won't try.

In the second section, "Grammar," students have 25 minutes to answer 50 questions. I finished it in 11:18. However, I made three careless mistakes. My score was 47/50. I'm attributing these mistakes to my desire to finish under 10 minutes. My goal is to finish the grammar section with a perfect score within 10 minutes. I believe this is within my grasp.

SNU releases a new TEPS practice test once a month.

Why don't you join me and try to beat my time and score?

I believe this test contains some very useful English expressions.

Feel free to ask me any questions.